ASSAM

Assam: 95% private schools keep fees within govt-set limit for new session

Of the 1,700 schools that had applied to the fee regulatory committee of the state government since October last year seeking a certificate of exemption from fee-cuts by the panel for the session 2021-2022, about 95% schools gave affidavits saying their fee structure was well within the maximum limit notified by the state government, said a member of the FRC.

The rest 5% moved the panel to review their plea for allowing them to charge as per their proposed fee structure, higher than the limit fixed by the government. The regulated fees from Classes I to XII were declared by the state government on FRC’s recommendation.

NORTH-EASTERN STATES

New species of African violet found in Mizoram

Researchers of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, have discovered a new endangered species of plant belonging to the African Violets family in Mizoram and its adjacent areas in Myanmar.

The newly-described species Didymocarpus vickifunkiae (Gesneriaceae) is currently known to grow in three locations in the frontier state Mizoram. It is an epiphyte, plants that grow on trees, and produce light pink flowers during monsoon. The species is named in honour of Dr Vicki Ann Funk, a renowned botanist, who worked at the Smithsonian Institute, USA.

Along with other discoveries, this recent find shows that the rich biodiversity of the northeastern states remains unexplored and there are many species of plants waiting to be discovered. Researches have always been allured by the complex geology and climatic conditions of northeast India, which is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna. However, much of it remains poorly documented, even as the IISER Bhopal team was studying the evolution and biogeography of Didymocarpus plants.

INTERNATIONAL

First Indian to Win Arab World Nobel Prize – Dr Tahera Qutbuddin

Mumbai born, Dr Tahera Qutbuddin, a professor of Arabic Literature at the University of Chicago, lately grew to be the first character of Indian-origin to win the 15th Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

The award is viewed to be the Nobel Prize of the Arab world. She gained the award for her brand new book, “Arabic Oration – Art and Function” published via Brill Academic Publishers of Leiden in 2019. In the book, she places forth a comprehensive principle of Arabic literature in its foundational oral duration dating the seventh and eighth centuries AD. She discusses its have an impact on on modern sermons and lectures as well.

NATIONAL

Over 14k hectares in Andaman & Nicobar Islands gets ‘organic’ tag

Over 14,000 hectares area in Car Nicobar and Nancowry islands in the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands has become India’s first large contiguous territory to be certified as ‘organic’ under the Centre’s ‘Large Area Certification’ (LAC) scheme.
Farming operations will be completely free from chemical inputs in this area like how it’s being done in the country’s fully organic state Sikkim.

India currently has several smaller clusters, accounting for more than 30 lakh hectares area spread over many states, registered under organic certification as per the PGS-India certification programme where the areas having chemical input usage history are required to undergo a transition period of a minimum of 2-3 years to qualify as organic.

As per the international survey report (2021) on organic farming, India ranks fifth in terms of area and is at the top in terms of a total number of producers (the base year 2019).

Exports hit $51 billion in first 7 weeks of current fiscal

India’s exporters are not complaining about the order book, despite some hiccups in recent weeks due to lockdowns across states.

According to the latest data available with the government, India’s exports reached $50.7 billion during the first seven weeks of the fiscal year, 11% higher than the corresponding period in 2019-20. The initial weeks of the last financial year were washed out due to a strict country-wide lockdown in India, which coincided with a similar situation across large parts of the world.

With 4.4 lakh patients, Karnataka tops in active Covid cases

Karnataka with 4.4 lakh active Covid cases is at the top among all states with highest active coronavirus cases in the country. Maharashtra is second with 3.3 lakh active cases, followed by Tamil Nadu with 3 lakh, Kerala (2.6 lakh) and Andhra Pradesh (2 lakh).

Many other states have reported significant drop in daily cases and coupled with a high recovery rate, the total caseloads have come down countrywide – from a peak active cases of 37 lakh to 26 lakh on Tuesday. West Bengal, Odisha and Rajasthan have 1 lakh active cases each.

Government to open 143 Khelo India centres across 7 states

The Sports Ministry has decided to set up 143 Khelo India centres across seven states with a total budget of Rs 14.30 crore in its bid to nurture talent at the grassroot level.
These centres will be set up in Maharashtra, Mizoram, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

Each centre will be entrusted with one sports discipline.

The Khelo India centres have been launched by the Sports Ministry in partnership with state governments to ensure the availability of grassroot-level infrastructure across the country.

In June 2020, the ministry had planned to open up as many as 1,000 new Khelo India centres over a period of four years, with at least one centre in each district of the country.

e-Courts Services Mobile App

The Supreme Court’s E-Committee has released a manual in 14 languages for its free “e-Courts Services Mobile App.”

The Supreme Court’s e-committee has released a manual for its “e-Courts Services Mobile App” in 14 languages, and the app itself has received over 57 lakh downloads.

The manual is available in the following languages: English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Khasi, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.

The App functions as a personalised digital case diary, with case details available on the handset at any time of day, for free. It allows any litigant, advocate, judge, or anyone else in India to check the current status of a case.

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